FPSO Petrojarl Knarr

The Petrojarl Knarr is one of the world’s largest floating production and storage units (FPSO) for harsh environments. The FPSO is owned by Teekay, a market leader in FPSO solutions for companies that produce oil and gas in deep waters and harsh weather conditions, and it is the company’s largest project to date. Petrojarl Knarr, which was newly built by Samsung Heavy Industries in Geoje, South Korea, is 256.4 m long and 48 m wide with a deadweight of 135,000 tons. It has a production capacity of 63,000 barrels a day and a storage capacity of 800,000 barrels. The FPSO will operate on the Knarr oil and gas field in the Norwegian North Sea for BG Norge.

Project challenges

The main challenges, which were dealt with effectively during project preparation and execution, were: 

• Weather: The typhoon season in the Northwestern Pacific starts at this time of year. In addition, the Cape of Good Hope was rounded during the local winter. Several weather agencies monitored the weather under way closely and forecasts were used as a basis for decisions by the experienced crew on board. 
• Towage by three tugs: Well-documented and well-trained procedures were in place specifically for three-tug towage to prevent any unsafe situations during the tow.
• Logistics: The various scheduled port calls were carefully planned and executed with assistance from local port agents to prevent unnecessary loss of time. 

Conclusion

The FPSO Petrojarl Knarr was towed effectively and safely, despite the distance and weather limitations along the route. With an average speed of 10.74 knots the three Fairmount tugs towed the FPSO more than 16,000 miles from South Korea to Norway in just 61 towing days, which is extremely fast, especially for an FPSO this size. Evaluating the project preparation and execution, it can be concluded that the operational best practices with the experienced crew on board were decisive for the safe, controlled and successful execution of this towage.